Jourama Falls

Paluma Range National Park, Queensland, Australia

About Jourama Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Jourama Falls was an intriguing multi-tiered waterfall that tumbled over at least seven visible drops (from what I could tell).

We don’t know the cumulative height of this waterfall series, but it wouldn’t surprise me if Waterview Creek would tumble well over 200m or so.

Jourama_Falls_033_05142008 - Jourama Falls and its many tiers
Jourama Falls and its many tiers

Jourama Falls sits within the Paluma Range National Park, where the Nywaigi people have referred to this mountain range as Munan Gumburu or “misty mountain”.

That kind of tells you how much moisture tends to collect here and feed the creeks and waterholes that drew us to this part of the North Coast of Queensland.

Speaking of waterholes, further downstream of the main drops of the Jourama Falls were additional cascades and waterslides at the so-called Rock Pools.

On our first visit in May 2008, when Waterview Creek still had fairly high flow, we saw some pretty daring youngsters go for a swim.

Jourama_Falls_008_jx_05142008 - Looking down at some young people chilling out closer to Waterview Creek closer to the base of the bottommost tier of Jourama Falls
Looking down at some young people chilling out closer to Waterview Creek closer to the base of the bottommost tier of Jourama Falls

On my second visit in early July 2022, Waterview Creek had much lower flow, but it was still an ideal spot for some families to go for a swim.

Indeed, this was another waterfall excursion where we can both appreciate its visual impact from its lookout as well as to go for a swim to cool off from the tropical heat and humidity.

Given that each of our visits yielded different experiences, let’s get into our trailside description of the excursion.

The Hike to Jourama Falls – from the Trailhead through Waterview Creek Crossing

From the car park (see directions below), we embarked on a 3km return track leading to Jourama Falls.

Jourama_Falls_002_05142008 - Julie on the straightforward part of the Jourama Falls Trail
Julie on the straightforward part of the Jourama Falls Trail

For the first 800m or so of the walking track, we hiked on dirt in a pretty flat and open terrain flanked by some thin trees with darkened bark.

Along the way, there was a spur path leading down to a somewhat calm part of Waterview Creek that might be an opportunity for an atmospheric dip (especially given that there’s lots of big, smooth, and rounded boulders here).

Anyways, this straightforward first part of the Jourama Falls Walk soon reached a crossing of Waterview Creek, which had a pretty high flow during our May 2008 visit.

On that initial visit, we had a real tricky time trying to keep our feet dry as we had to take on this crossing by carefully choosing our steps over a combination of boulders and turned over buckets.

Jourama_Falls_002_iPhone_07012022 - Looking towards a calm part of Waterview Creek with lots of smooth boulders at the end of a short spur trail, which I'd imagine would be a good spot for a swim
Looking towards a calm part of Waterview Creek with lots of smooth boulders at the end of a short spur trail, which I’d imagine would be a good spot for a swim

So this crossing was one of the reasons why we thought we were getting a little more adventure than we bargained for going into the hike.

As scary as it looked, the park authorities’ efforts in putting both chains to hold onto while also filling in buckets that served as foot steps to facilitate the Waterview Creek crossing definitely helped.

In fact, with a combination of our waterproof Gore-tex boots and these aids, I managed to keep my socks from getting wet on this crossing (though Julie had one misstep and got one foot soaked).

Considering how scary this crossing looked, I thought that getting through the crossing without getting water to intrude over the top of the hiking boots was a minor miracle.

Jourama_Falls_006_05142008 - Julie carefully crossing Waterview Creek while it was in high flow
Julie carefully crossing Waterview Creek while it was in high flow

So you can imagine my shock when I came back in early July 2022, and I saw that there was a bridge that made this a trivial crossing given Waterview Creek’s lower flow.

That said, I could imagine how this hike would be impassable if Waterview Creek been running even higher like it might tend to do in the Wet Season.

The Hike to Jourama Falls – beyond the Waterview Creek Crossing

Beyond the wet part of the crossing, we then had to go through a bit of a bouldery stream bed traverse, which was quite slippery and dodgy on our first visit in May 2008.

The awkward footing and slick terrain from the smooth boulders that we had to weave through made it real easy for a fall here.

Jourama_Falls_010_05142008 - Tricky footing beyond the crossing of Waterview Creek en route to Jourama Falls
Tricky footing beyond the crossing of Waterview Creek en route to Jourama Falls

It certainly made us wish we had brought our trekking poles to aid with the balance.

However, apparently over the years, the authorities have really improved conditions by filling in and flattening out the formerly sketchier parts of where the trail became awkward boulder scrambles.

So this made the hike so much easier during my early July 2022 visit, and I managed to breeze through this traverse just like I breezed through the bridged Waterview Creek crossing.

Anyways, at the end of the stream bed scramble, we then picked up the signs and the track again as it started ascending a combination of steps and switchbacks.

Jourama_Falls_032_06302022 - Looking up at the topmost tier of Jourama Falls from the Rock Pools
Looking up at the topmost tier of Jourama Falls from the Rock Pools

The track then took us towards a junction with a spur trail where that spur led back down towards Waterview Creek at the so-called Rock Pools, which was a swimming hole amongst another jumble of boulders.

From down here, I could only see the uppermost tiers of Jourama Falls, which whetted the appetite to see more of that waterfall.

So returning to the trail junction and continuing on the upper path to proceed on the main track, we had to go up a series of switchbacks for the final 600m.

By the end of these switchbacks, we ultimately made it all the way up to the overlook of the impressive Jourama Falls.

Jourama_Falls_003_jx_05142008 - The viewing platform for Jourama Falls
The viewing platform for Jourama Falls

As if the heat and humidity of tropical Queensland didn’t already make us sweaty to this point, the uphill stretch certainly ensured that we’d be drenched with sweat by the time we made it to the end.

Yet when we did make it to the overlook, we were treated to a very comprehensive view of the cliff giving rise to what appeared to be a broken jumble of waterfalls over seven drops drop on the cliff before us.

While it looked like there were trails of use going beyond the railings of the lookout towards what I’d imagine to be the top of Jourama Falls, that was considered a restricted area so I didn’t bother continuing.

Returning from Jourama Falls

After having our fill of the Jourama Falls Lookout, we looked forward to the all downhill trajectory of our return hike to the car park.

Jourama_Falls_007_iPhone_07012022 - Full context of Jourama Falls trying to capture all 7 drops or so of Waterview Creek using pano mode on the iPhone
Full context of Jourama Falls trying to capture all 7 drops or so of Waterview Creek using pano mode on the iPhone

However, we once again had to negotiate the tricky stream crossing of Waterview Creek in high flow on our first visit (which slowed us down).

Nevertheless, it didn’t seem as difficult on the way back as it did on the way in.

Of course, on my return visit in early July 2022, the whole hike was a breeze thanks to the improved infrastructure and lower flow of Waterview Creek.

In any case, the overall walk took Julie and I a little over an hour away from the car, and I took a similar amount of time on my return visit when I did it solo.

Jourama_Falls_079_06302022 - Descending steps on the mostly downhill hike back to the Jourama Falls car park
Descending steps on the mostly downhill hike back to the Jourama Falls car park

That said, on my second visit here, I actually spent less time on the trail and more time enjoying the scenery thanks to the improvements made over the years.

Authorities

Jourama Falls resides in the Paluma Range National Park near Ingham, Queensland. It is administered by the State of Queensland Department of Environment and Science. For information or inquiries about the area as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual members. See Membership Options.
Content is for members. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: paluma range, national park, hinchinbrook, waterview creek, cardwell, queensland, australia, waterfall, stream crossing, ingham



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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
Read More About Johnny | A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls.